


Echoes

by unprettier



Category: Final Fantasy IX
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:13:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27539677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unprettier/pseuds/unprettier
Summary: The adventure is over, the Final Battle is won, and now Gaia is (believed to be) at peace. But what will become of the party of eight as life begins anew?
Relationships: Beatrix/Adelbert Steiner, Blank/Ruby (Final Fantasy IX), Cid Fabool IX/Hildagarde Fabool, Freya Crescent/Fratley, Garnet Til Alexandros XVII/Zidane Tribal
Kudos: 8





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So, I've finished FFIX again for the billionth time and once again got inspired to write my own version of the events of the end! Basically, the plan (after this prologue chapter) is to cover the missing pieces of the time leading up to the game's final scene and then go even beyond that! Enjoy!

Garnet Til Alexandros XVII tossed an arm over her eyes to shield herself from the morning sun peering through her bedroom window. It couldn't have been time to wake already. At least, it shouldn't have been. Surely, most sensible people weren't awake at this hour. Then again, she was a member of the Royal Family, and it was unacceptable for her to sleep a moment past the crack of dawn. Or so she had been convinced, anyway.

However, she quickly realized the absence of the pounding on her door by the Captain of the Knights of Pluto, the lack of a gentle voice coaxing her awake from beyond her door by the General of Alexandria, and exactly the sound of zero loud bells ringing from the downtown Steeple. For once in her life, it seemed Garnet was finally left alone to slumber peacefully.

But the sun had other ideas, and hand nor arm could hide the light from her any longer. A brisk wind had also managed to creep inside the room, making it even harder to stay in dreamland. So, she rolled over and comfortably nestled into the warmth of the body next to her.

"Good morning," her bed companion whispered, and Garnet only squeezed him tighter in response. She didn't dare lift an eyelid, for that would acknowledge that it really was time to start the day. And she wanted nothing more than to continue to lay here for as long as anyone allowed them to.

He whispered again as he buried his face into her neck, her entire body coming alive at the sensation of his breath against her skin. "Time to wake, my love."

"Not fair," Garnet murmured, still refusing to open her eyes and desperately clinging to what little sleep she still had left in her.

She could've sworn for a second she felt him smile against the nape of her neck before beginning to place gentle kisses all the way down her shoulder and back up to her face.

"Definitely not fair," she said again, no longer trying to defend herself from the sun but instead the onslaught of smooches that he'd weaponized against her to force her out of bed.

Eventually, the pair had settled back into a quiet embrace, but Garnet knew the point of no return had been hit. She was wide awake now.

This realization only made her outwardly groan, and despite having not shared her thoughts aloud, her lover understood her frustration. "Don't worry," he said, as she rolled over away from him and back towards the bedroom window, "It's going to be a great day."

"How do you know?" she asked, squeezing her eyes closed even tighter against the blinding sun.

"Because we're together."

A smile crept across Garnet's face that could've brightened the room even more than the morning sun had, and she finally opened her eyes.

But her lover did not follow. He instead just happily watched on as she approached the opened window of her bedroom, leaning forward to look down over the kingdom of Alexandria. The streets seemed quiet, though she knew it was just the calm before the storm of what would likely be another busy day. Still, it was peaceful, like it always was, and that was all that mattered.

"Another lovely morning," she sighed happily, pushing the shutters open wider to allow more of the sun and the breeze to envelope the room. "Now it's your turn, sleepy head."

But when Garnet turned back around, she was no longer met with the sight of a brightly lit room. The gentle breeze that flowed from outside had dissipated. It was just dark, cold, and empty; as if all of the color had drained away, all of the air had been sucked out of the room.

"Zidane?" she called out, but she could see that the bed was now empty too. Not even a single sheet of linen. "Zidane?! Where did you go?!"

The Summoner searched frantically for the Genome, but she could find hide, nor hair of him anywhere. He'd completely vanished.

"Dagger..."

Garnet froze at the sound of his voice. It was no longer the pleasant whisper it had been mere moments earlier, and it now gave her shivers for all the wrong reasons. Still, she couldn't place it anywhere, despite how close it sounded. Almost as if he was standing right next to her.

"Dagger..."

This time, she knew exactly where the voice was coming from, and when she finally spotted Zidane, Garnet shrieked so loudly she was sure even the people of Lindblum could hear her. His lifeless body was laying in the middle of the bed, in a pool of his own blood. It was the most horrifying scene she'd ever witnessed, be it real life or the theater. Yet with foolishly little hesitation, she rushed towards him, but fell backwards as he suddenly sprung into the air.

"Look what you did to me," he groaned as he landed on his feet and slowly limped his way towards her.

Garnet scrambled back on all fours to crawl away from the now zombified Genome, but try as she might, he only drew closer. "No, it wasn't my fault," she cried, "I tried to stop you from going back!"

He groaned again, inching towards her. "You killed me."

"No, I didn't! I didn't mean to!"

The Summoner cowered against her bedroom door as she felt herself back into it. At this point, there was nowhere else for her to go. The window was sealed shut, the door wouldn't budge, and there was nowhere to run or hide. Either this thing was going to get her or someone was going to burst in and save the day. She could only hope it was the latter, so she squeezed her eyes shut again and prayed for such with all her might.

"Murderer!" was the last thing she heard before he lunged towards her, and a blood curdling scream was the last thing she could manage to get out before it got ahold of her.

But when Garnet opened her eyes once again, she was met with that bright morning sun and the gentle breeze that teased her once before. It seemed as if all was right within the world again, and her bedroom had returned to its normal state. Except she was still alone inside of it.

"PRINCESS!" a voice from the other side of the door called out, the loud clunking of armor accompanying it, "Are you alright!?"

Garnet rubbed the sleep – and horror - away from her eyes for a few moments before responding. "It was just a nightmare, Steiner."

But The Captain didn't wait before barging in to ensure the area was clear of any intruders. "In all my years as a Knight, I've never heard such terror!" he said once satisfied that the coast was clear, "Are you sure you're alright, Your Majesty?"

Garnet didn't respond after that, and Steiner knew the answer. Of course, she wasn't alright. Zidane had been missing for almost a year at this point. And missing was putting it politely. There was no chance he was still alive by now, and she wasn't taking that possibility lightly. She'd spent the better part of the last 10 months unable to sleep, and on rare occasions like this when she did, her nights were rife with nightmares. This seemed to be the worst one so far.

Steiner, however, was not exactly well versed in matters of the heart. Given it had taken him far too long to reveal his own true feelings for a certain comrade, perhaps someone more qualified could have a talk with the Queen about the situation instead.

Before The Captain could suggest such a thing though, Garnet reminded him that they had quite a day ahead of them. It was finally time for the yearly theatre production of I Want To Be Your Canary. But more importantly, they'd planned a major reunion with all of their friends. It was the first time they'd all seen each other since they'd met in Black Mage Village to say goodbye another fallen friend. And though Garnet in particular wasn't in the greatest of spirits these days, this was still a much happier occasion on which to finally reunite. Thus, there was still much work to be done for the event; by the Captain, the General, and the Queen alike.

"I shall take my leave of you then, my Queen," Steiner said with a salute, silently commending himself for finally remembering to refer to her as the proper title. He jogged towards the door, but not before turning back to wish Garnet well on her special day: "Happy Birthday!"

The Queen looked back after him from her seat and nodded, tiredly. She couldn't even manage a simple thank you. But after such a nightmare, she suspected he wouldn't mind much. His congratulations only served as painful reminder anyway. This was yet another birthday where she sat in front of this window completely miserable.

After dwelling on her pain for a few moments, Garnet rose from her seat and approached her bedroom window for what actually was the first time that morning, though it didn't feel like it. But she did not gaze wistfully outside at her kingdom below. She didn't let the sun warm her face or allow the cool breeze to calm her nerves. She simply reached outside and yanked the shutters closed with a loud thud, before retiring back to her seat until someone would force her out of it later on that day.

_Happy Birthday, indeed._


	2. Chapter 1 - Lonely Heart

"You're awfully quiet."

It was an odd observation to make, Freya Crescent had realized after the fact, but it didn't make it any less true. Amarant Coral was silent the majority of the time, to the point where when he finally did speak, everyone around him would often stare at him in shock and/or amazement. Even with this otherwise reserved demeanor, Freya could usually expect him to have, at the very least, a passing quip or retort to throw out on their travels together.

But this had not been the case since they'd fled from the Iifa Tree mere hours ago. The airship was en route to Lindblum at what felt like a snail's pace, and most of the party milled about in exhaustion from everything that had transpired. Dagger stayed on the deck of the Hilda Garde III as she looked onto the world below, Steiner watching the Princess – and the Red Rose trailing behind - from afar; Vivi had already fallen fast asleep; Quina made a beeline for the snacks; and Eiko buzzed around the bridge with excitement at all they accomplished.

But Amarant was in the loading bay, like he always was, leaned against the wall, yet even more pensive than usual. Freya made an attempt to assess the reason for this herself, but hell if she knew what Red was thinking at any given time. She figured in the end it would just be better to ask, if not in the most roundabout way possible. Indirectly doing so would at least give him free reign of the conversation, which she suspected he preferred given his lack of sociableness in the first place.

Amarant threw her a pointed look. There was something about the Dragon Knight that he never minded having a longer conversation or a quick chat with her. For whatever reason, he found her to be the only tolerable one. Mildly so, but still so. At the end of the day, she wasn't an annoying child, an obnoxiously loud knight, or a stuck-up Royal Family member. That was good enough for him, he guessed.

It wasn't that he felt too much of an aversion to the rest of the party members though. If they were completely insufferable, he wouldn't have continued to travel with them for so long. But he certainly never made it a point to "bond" with any of them either. The difference with Freya, it seemed, was that she actually took an interest in even trying to get to know him. He was pretty sure some of the others had never even spoken a single word to him otherwise. But of course, that lack of interest was also mutual on his part.

"It was quite a battle," said the crimson-haired bounty hunter, but Freya could already tell that wasn't what was truly on his mind. She had no trouble placating him for a bit with such small talk, though, so she agreed:

"Quite odd to say I've now been to the 'Zero World'. Even Sir Fratley, having traveled to the ends of the earth and back, can say no such thing."

"How is your beau, anyway?"

Freya sighed. "I've not seen him since the attack on Cleyra."

". . . . ."

The Dragon Knight didn't take his abrupt non-responsiveness personally. She knew he wasn't the type to offer condolences or advice. She didn't need it any anyway. The fact that he'd even taken an interest in asking about him was considerate enough for her. Regardless, there was nothing anyone could do for her and Fratley, other than take pity. She didn't want or need that either. Either Fratley would get his memory back or he would not. Either way, she was simply glad to know he was alive. There was no doubt in her mind she would see him again. But the distance, though at one time painful, was probably needed right now. It was likely better for her to move on from the past so that when the two did reunite, they could look to the future once and for all.

"He's a fool," said Amarant, after a long pause in the conversation, "I can't figure out why."

"Zidane, you mean?" Freya was quite sure he wasn't referring to Sir Fratley, especially considering the two had never even met. Besides, Red had already called Zidane just as much back at the Iifa Tree. Ever the blunt one, he was. Even during what was arguably an emotional moment.

"Kuja tried to kill us all. He tried to end the world."

"You're not wrong," the Dragon Knight agreed, not before joining the spot next to him in a wall lean of her own. They'd spent much time in this room together during their travels before seizing control of The Invincible, which in some ways felt like many years ago, but in others just days. Maybe it had only been days. Freya lost track.

"But that's the kind of person Zidane is," she continued, "He wants to help-"

"He wants to show off."

"Perhaps," Freya relented, "But not at the risk of losing himself or the people he cares about most. If he was willing to take such a chance on even a sworn enemy, I do believe it is for a far more noble reason than bravado."

Amarant might've taken the time to contemplate this viewpoint had he been able to stop himself from scoffing at the idea of Zidane Tribal being 'noble'. But he knew better than that. He was nothing more than a common thief, just like himself. No number of good deeds or world saving would change that. They would still be looked down upon by someone richer, someone classier, someone prettier. He learned as much quickly when living and working in Treno

"You laugh, but it's the truth." Freya peeled herself away from the wall, resolving to leave the bounty hunter alone again once more in his own thoughts. But before she made her way to the airship's bridge, she reminded him of one simple thing: "If you recall, Amarant, Zidane went back for you too."

Amarant was silent for the rest of the trip.


End file.
